It's the 10th of the month and your landlord wants the rent. He's sent his bank account number — a string of digits that means nothing to you — with a note that says transfer only, no cash. You open your foreign bank app, try to make an international transfer, and discover the fee alone would buy you a week's worth of convenience store lunches. This is the moment most foreigners in Korea realize they need a real Korean bank account — not eventually, right now.
The good news is that getting one has never been easier. The slightly complicated news is that "easy" still comes with two prerequisites that take time, and every app involved is entirely in Korean.
So what does it actually take?
Two things unlock the entire online banking world in Korea: an ARC (Alien Registration Card / 외국인등록증) and a Korean mobile phone number registered in your own name. These aren't optional extras — they're the backbone of the identity verification system every internet bank uses.
The ARC is issued by Korean Immigration after you've been in the country for 90 days or more on a long-term visa. Once you have it, you get a 13-digit registration number that functions much like a national ID number. That number — along with a selfie holding your ARC and an SMS one-time password sent to your Korean number — is how KakaoBank, Toss Bank, and K bank verify who you are, entirely through an app, no branch visit required.
The phone number needs to be a proper postpaid contract (through KT, SKT, or LGU+) registered under your name and your ARC. Tourist SIMs and prepaid cards not formally linked to you won't pass the SMS verification step. It sounds like a small detail until you've spent forty minutes trying to figure out why the OTP isn't working.
KakaoBank: the one you probably want first
KakaoBank (카카오뱅크) launched in 2017 and has grown into Korea's most popular internet bank, with a reported 23 million registered users as of 2024 — figures worth confirming directly on KakaoBank's official site, as they update frequently. It's backed by the same company behind KakaoTalk, and the two apps are deeply connected: you can send money to a KakaoTalk contact without knowing their account number at all. If your Korean coworkers and friends use it — and most of them do — that social layer alone makes KakaoBank the obvious home base.
Opening an account as a foreigner is fully possible through the app. Download 카카오뱅크 from the App Store or Google Play, sign up with your Korean phone number, enter your ARC registration number as your ID, take a selfie holding your ARC card, and set a PIN. The whole process takes around ten minutes when everything goes smoothly. A standard checking account (입출금 통장) is the right starting point. You can also order a Visa debit card — it arrives by post to your Korean address and works internationally, though check current foreign transaction fees in-app since these change.
One thing to be clear-eyed about: the app is in Korean. There were reports of KakaoBank testing a basic English mode, but the official English version of the website was returning a 404 as of early 2026 — so treat any English interface as unconfirmed until you see it yourself.
Toss Bank: for the financially curious
Toss (토스) started as a simple money transfer app and evolved into a full financial super-app. The banking arm, Toss Bank (토스뱅크), lives inside the same app as the account aggregator. The setup is nearly identical to KakaoBank: download 토스, create an account with your Korean number, navigate to the Toss Bank section, enter your ARC number, complete the ID photo and selfie step, and you're done.
Where Toss earns its reputation is the dashboard. The broader app can pull in balances from virtually every Korean bank and card you own, show your Korean credit scores (both KCB and NICE scores, for free), and flag numbers that have been reported for scams before you transfer money. That last feature is oddly comforting when you're new to the country and still figuring out who to trust.
Toss Bank has also been known to offer higher everyday interest rates than traditional banks — though these rates shift regularly, so look at the current figure in-app rather than relying on anything you've read elsewhere. Toss Securities is built into the same app if you want to venture into Korean or US stock trading. The same caveats apply as everywhere else: Korean-only interface, ARC required, Korean SIM required.
K bank: only if you have a crypto reason
K bank (케이뱅크) was actually the first internet bank licensed in Korea, back in 2017, and foreigners with an ARC can open an account via the same app-based process. It's a functional bank for everyday use, but the main reason most foreigners care about it is its exclusive banking partnership with Upbit, Korea's largest crypto exchange.
If you want to trade on Upbit and deposit or withdraw Korean won, you need a K bank account. There have been discussions about Upbit expanding its banking relationships, but as of early 2026 this partnership still appears to be in place — worth confirming on Upbit's official support pages before going through the setup. If crypto is not in your plans, K bank is perfectly serviceable but there's no pressing reason to open it over KakaoBank.
What to do before your ARC arrives
This part doesn't get talked about enough. You land, you need to pay for things, and your ARC won't be ready for weeks or months. So what bridges the gap?
Wise and Revolut are genuinely useful here. Both work without Korean banking, let you hold multiple currencies, and Wise in particular has reasonable exchange rates for converting into KRW when you need to pay someone. Neither replaces a Korean bank account long-term, but they handle the early period without drama.
Traditional branch-based banks are also an option. Hana Bank — particularly branches with a Global Finance Center — and IBK (Industrial Bank of Korea) are frequently mentioned in expat communities as foreigner-friendly, with some staff who speak English and the ability to open an account using a passport. Features may be more limited than internet banks, but you'll have a Korean account number. Shinhan, Woori, and NH Nonghyup can also handle this at select branches — calling ahead to confirm English support saves a wasted trip.
The honest advice: get your ARC processed as quickly as the immigration timeline allows, then get a Korean SIM registered in your name right after. Those two things unlock everything.
The pitfalls nobody warns you about
The most common friction isn't the app itself — it's the phone number catching people out. A corporate SIM registered to your employer, a temporary number from a friend, or a tourist SIM will cause the bank's OTP system to reject you or create account ownership tangles that take real effort to sort out.
App security software is another variable. Korean financial apps sometimes require additional security components, and on some Android setups — especially rooted phones — these checks fail with opaque Korean error messages. iPhones running standard software generally work without issue.
If something goes wrong after account opening — a frozen account, a failed re-verification after switching phones, a locked-out device — resolution typically involves calling customer service, which operates in Korean. KakaoBank has an in-app chat option that's somewhat more navigable, but it's also in Korean. Having a Korean-speaking contact available for serious issues is a real practical advantage, not just a nice-to-have.
Where to actually start
If you have your ARC and a Korean SIM, begin with KakaoBank. It's the most widely recognized, the most socially integrated through KakaoTalk, and the smoothest experience even in Korean. Get that working first. Then add Toss for the financial dashboard and credit score tracking. Add K bank only if Upbit is in your plans.
If you're still waiting on your ARC, set up Wise as a bridge, visit a Hana or IBK branch if you urgently need a Korean account number, and treat the internet banks as something to look forward to once immigration clears. The system has genuinely improved compared to even a few years ago — it's not perfect, but it's workable.
